West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-03-18
THE ISSUE.


decide whether the U. s. Senate is
TO DC controlled by millionaire rep
resentatives of monopoly or by
statesmen who serve the public at
large. II at this crisis, and after
what has occurred, this county goes
for Camden, then that is the end of
the fight of the people against mo-
nopOly.
Of late years the laws have been
shaped to increase the profits of
capital and to facilitate great com
binations whereby the big fish swal.
low the small fish. If the real issue
be understood, one side viii receive
no votes except from persons in the
pay of those who get rich by meth
DDS that impoverish the majority.
But all the cunning money can hire
is invoked TO obscure the issue and
induce honest voters to vote contra
nv TO their true interests. For ex-
ample, Camden represents and is the
embodiment of the very ideas and
methods an agricultural county like
this is against, and yet he expects
by means of his agents in Jefferson
to elect to the Legislature man
who will support him, or, if he him
self cannot be Senator, then some
one with the same views and meth
DDS on this issue, were it made
openly, there would be against Cam
den the largest vote ever polled. But
this issue is concealed and the
shrewdest politicians are now at
work in Washington to invent way
to vote our people for Camden with
out their knowing it. While farm
ers are rustling to make ends meet
with wheat at 20 cents and while
mechanics are scheming to still fur
ther reduce family expenses, long
headed political managers are paid
fabulous salaries by corporations to
invent new methods to trick the
farmers and mechanics into sending
to the Legislature a man who will
assist in electing Camden. viii
they succeed:
Instead of avowing their true pur-
pose they try to create an impress;
sion that some sin was committed
when several of the best Democrats
in the Legislature refused to support
Camden. The pretense is, they re-
fused to go into a caucus and there
by bind themselves to vote for him.
This is a pretext; the truth is, the
only sin consisted in defeating Cam
den. The result of the caucus was
known beforehand. Ont of fifty
Democrats twenty-seven were al
ready pledged to him. To 60 into
caucus was therefore to elect Cam.
den, and to stay out of caucus was
to defeat him. No politician will
come before the people on PROPOSE
ton, that the principles Of the party
are to he sacrificed in order to pre-
serve that invention of political
managers, called Caucus. As the
matter stood the question was
whether to 90 in caucus and thereby
certainly elect Camden or to stay
out and thereby defeat him. No
man, who is at heart, opposed to
having the Senate filed with repre-
sentatives of monopoly would go
into caucus, or into any other meet
inc, if doing so elects the very man
who OuOht not to be elected. What
does the farmer at the pillow or the
mechanic at the bench care for eau
Gus. when caucus means monopoly.
He cares for the principles of the
party. but not for devices to defeat
those principles. When we come
down to the bottom facts, the people
do not care Il fig for any of the con-
triyances of politicians and all this
pretended excitement comes from
men who are trying to use party
machinery, because they are hired
either with money or Wlth reueral
patronage, to re-eleet Camden. The
plan in Jefferson is, to have great
number Of men talking as if caucus
was the salvation of Democracy, and
the expectation is that the farmers
and mechanics will not see through
this conspiracy in time to avoid be-
ing fooled. Let our people under
stand once for all that, in this cleo
tion, CAUCUS MEANS CAMDEN
AND CAMDEN MEANS MO
NOPOLY, and it means also that
Ls,b ,>,otocf,,-o tariff which hoe